A Clash of Kings-Chapter 9

Yoren has the recruits travel off the Kingsroad to avoid the Gold Cloaks. They meet few travelers, and wary farmers. Finally the come upon a burned village. Arya goes into the forest to make water. She runs into a wolf pack, which scares her. She reports this toe Yoren, who states he should have taken a ship.

Synopsis

Yoren’s group is traveling on a road that is only two ruts through weeds, at the best, so bad that their pace drops to a crawl, mostly because of the wagons. Yoren has decided to avoid the Kingsroad and travel along the western (far) shore of the God's Eye. The Kingsroad will not safe to they cross the Trident. They meet little traffic. Arya now rides a chestnut mare with a white blaze, she is a good rider. As they travel she nervously watches for the Gold Cloaks, and, even though they put up sentries at night, it does not make her comfortable since she can easily get by them to make her water. She wants to ride alone, but then there would be no one to scout ahead or watch behind. Soon they are in forests and their supplies run out, so Yoren turns to the poachers Koss and Kurz to supply food through hunting, while others foraged for food.

Gendry continues to claim he doesn’t know why the Queen wants him; he was supposed to be an armorer, then Master Tobho Mott tells him he is to join the Night's Watch. Meanwhile Gendry continues to polish is bull helm bright, but never wears it. Lommy claims he is the son of the wolf lord which Arya angrily claims is not true

When Arya takes a rabbit—Arya finds rabbits faster than cats, but don’t climb so well. She shares her larger portion—Yoren gives her a large portion for killing it—with Gendry and Jaqen H’ghar thanks her for the little he gets.

At Briarwhite they are surrounded by farmers in a cornfield and Yoren gives some coppers, telling them “Time was, a man in black was feasted from Dorne to Winterfell, and even high lords called it an honor to shelter him under their roofs. Now cravens like you want hard coin for a bite of wormy apple.”

The next day Koss reports 20 to 30 men ahead, some dying, and there was a banner: Spotted treecat, yellow and black, on a mud-brown field. They added miles to their travels to avoid the group. After that they more and more see men guarding the fields.

Midday they then come upon a village with charred fields for miles around that they had seen burning the night before. Yoren, Murch and Cutjack enters the village, leaving the rest to guard the wagons. When Arya turns to see Gendry, he has his helmet on. Yoren returns with a two year old girl and her badly injured mother, the only survivors. When the woman whimpers “Please…” Biter and Rorge start laughing until Murch tells them to shut up. Then Hot Pie tells Arya he is scared, and Arya admits she is also. Hot Pie, squeezing her shoulder, tells her he never kicked a boy to death, he only sold pies.

The woman dies that evening and Gendry and Cutjack dig her grave. Later Arya thinks she can hear the moaning of the woman.

Yoren allows no fire that night, and so diner is cold, and Arya fills her belly with water to fill it. Later, she wakes with a full bladded. As she is leaving to make water, Hot Pie, who is on watch, notices her and tells Arya that Yoren said they are to stay close. He also tells her he had heard wolves, and Arya pretends to be afraid. She goes back and pretends to sleep until Hot Pie leaves, and then slips into the woods, easily avoiding the sentries. She is surprised by a pack of wolves, one of whom approaches her. The wolf stares at her, but then races back into the woods. She goes to tell Yoren of the wolves in the forest. When she tells him that they scared her, he tells her that he thought her kind were fond of wolves. Arya states Nymeria was a Direwolf. Then Yoren tells her that the only wolves they have to fear are human ones. Arya continues that she wants to go home The old man tells her that all the recruits would have been safer in the city; he has been bringing men to the Wall for 30 years, always by the Kingsroad and lost only three men; this time he should have taken ship. He then tells her to go to sleep, and she tries but can hear wolves and maybe the faint sound of screams.

References and Notes

• Review of the chapter in the course of a tenth reread.
• Humorous review and summary of the chapter by Jason.
• Review and summary by Leigh Butler.